Improvement in friction power-brakes



W. H. WARD.

2Sheet's--SheetL Friction Power-Brake.

Patented Aue. 24,1875.

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w. H. WARD.

Friction Power-Brake. No. 167,044, Patented Aug. 24,1875.

' FIGIX Ilz FIC-lll FIC-IV 2 W/ UNITED STATES PATENT WILLIAM H. WARD, OF AUBURN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN FRICTION POWER-BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 167,044, dated August 24, 1875; application filed January 28, 1875.

.To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. WARD, of Auburn, in the county of Cayuga and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Friction Power-Brakes; and I do hereby declare that the following` is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art t0 which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accom panyin gdrawing, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object ofmy invention is to utilize the momentum of the car or train to apply the brakes whenever required. This is effected by the employment of friction-disks, arranged to embrace a revolving axle-disk, and having a sliding movement toward and from said axle-disk, and a partial rotary movement therewith, in order that, at the moment the sliding disks are brought in contact with the revolving disk, the force of the moving car or train is brought into requisition to apply the brakes on all the wheels, and thereby stop itself.

The usual bell-cord connects with the sliding disks by a novel construction and combination of lever devices, which, by pulling said volving axle-disk, while chain-connections from the partial rotary disks are caused to operatean armed rock-shaft on the same truck,

and, through connecting-rods, instantly apply all the brakes in such manner that in proportion to the force exerted by the outer disks `upon the faces of the revolving disks, so will' be an increase of friction force of the brakes upon the wheels.

The disk chain-connections are such as to allowl the disks to partially rotate in the direction the car or train may be moving.

The brakes vare applied by pulling in and during the holding of the bell-cord, and are released whenever the cord is allowed its freedom or let go, and by the action of a counterweight connected with the rock-shaft arms.

The employment of this device for brake force derived from the momentum of the car or train to stop itself effectually dispenses with all the platform hand-brakes as now in use.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a vertical longitudinal section of a portion of a railway-carriage and a four-Wheel truck embracing my invention 5 Fig. 2, a top view of the truck, showing thebrake and its connections; Fig. 3, a cross-section, showing the inner end of the truck and brake devices in elevation; Fig. 4, an elevation of the outer end of the truck; Fig. 5, a longitudinal section of the axle and the friction-disks on an enlarged scale; Fig. 6, an elevation of the same and the leversfor bringing the disks together and separating them from the rotating axle-disk; Fig. 7, an end view of the same, and Fig. 8 a section of the pulley and cone Winding device for the weight Which puts the disks in contact through the action of the bellcord and its connections.

The drawings show my improved brake as applied to a single truck, and from which connections are made `to the other truck of the car.

The trucks are of any approved pattern in use.

The braking device consists, primarily, of three friction-disks-a revolving disk, c, fixed to any one of the truck-axles b, and movable disks c c, arranged for action on each side of the axle-disk, so that when these parts are in contact the friction of their four face-surfaces will constitute a sufficient power derived from the momentum of the moving car or train to apply the brakes. The disks c c are mounted loosely upon the axle, and have only a slight movement thereon toward and from the revolving disk, which movement is imparted to them by means of yoke-levers ol cl, having suitable collar-bearin gs upon ends c e of said disks,

and are united at their outer ends by a jointlever, f, connecting with the bell-cord. The yoke-levers d d, while havin gtheir bearin gs upon the disk-hubs, are supported at their work ends by a triangular suspending-spring, g, the object of which is to press open, and also retain in position, the levers d d, and move the disks c c from the disk a when the brakeshoes h are free. Thejoint-leverisof two parts, fand f1, united by a lap-joint, f2, Fig. 3, the action whereof', when the part fis raised, is like that of a toggle-joint, to force the levers and the disks c o, which carry them, together, and apply the faces of these disks to the revolving disk.v This joint-lever stands across the truck, and the free e-nd of the part fis connected, by a rod, f3, to a Weighted cord, i, passing up into the car behind the casing` at any suitable point, and over a double conepulley, j, Fig. 8, at the top of the car, Figs. l and 3, said cord being provided' with a hollow weight, 7c, Fig. 10,'the object of Which is to raise the joint-leverf whenever the Weight is allowed to descend. The friction of the double cone is such as to exert upon the levers d a variable force, as will be presently described. In connection with this double cone-pulley there is combined a separate double pulley, l l, Fig. 8, for a weighted branch-line connection, m m1, with the bell-cord n of the car or train, Figs. 3 and 9. These separate pull'eys are on rthe same spindle, and each has motion independent of the other, but are made to rotate in the same direction by one or more loose washers, 0 01, having a rib project-ion, 02, on the opposite faces, for engaging with projections 2 2 on the innerv faces of the pulley l and the double cone j, for the purpose of unwinding the branch line m, and wind up the weight m1, which operation winds the cord i on one end of the cone, to raise the Work end of the lever f, and close the disks 0 c upon the disk a, andunwnds the weight la, which maintains the frictional contact o f the disks with greater or less force.

The arrangement of the loose Washers o o1 between the pulleys and their pin-connections 2 2 is to allow of the pulleys l Z to turn independently of the cone-pulley, and so compensate for whatever slack there may be between the cars composing the train, so that when thev bell-cord is pulled toward the engine the brakes may be instantly applied.

The weight-box lc is hollow, (see Fig. 10,)

. and of sufficient weight to produce force enough on the friction-disks c c to lock the wheels of an empty or light car; but when the car o r cars are loaded, the brake or train man opens the casin g of the weight-boxes, and adds to the weights whatever he may think necessary to cause the disks o c to Work with a sufcient increase of force upon the revolving disk a, and by this means graduate the force of the brakes on eachrcar agreeable to its requirements.

This'arran gement of branch lines and weighted cords alsol tends to keep the bell-cord n always free from slack, so that the least pull thereofl toward the engine will operate the pulley and weight-lines that move the lever f, which, by its lap-joint connection, draws the levers d cl in contact with the revolving disk a, and by such contact causes the outer disks to have a limited. movement in the same direction with said disk.

This partial rotation of the disks c c is governed by a branched chain-connectiomp, Figs. l, 2, and. 3, secured to theouter side of one or both of the disks c, at the circumference thereof, and diametrically opposite each other, by suitable lugs q. rlhe other end of said chain, or rather its center, is connected to an arm, 1', on a rock-shaft, r', mounted upon the truckframe. The partial rotation of the disks c c Will draw either branch of the chain p with it and pull down the rock-shaft arm r, which operation applies the brakes by means of a rod, u, extending from said arm o" to a horizontal arm, al, upon a crank-rod, u2,'at the end of the truck opposite the friction-power disks. The lower end of thisv crank-rod has its bearing in the brake-bar a3, and has a crank-arm, a4, on its lower end, from which a rod, us, eX- tends, and connects with the center of an arm, a6, pivoted to the inner brake-bar a7, while the brake-bar a9 is connected by a rod, a, with the arm a6, whereby all the brake-bars of said truck are connected with the friction-power disks.

The crank-rod u1 may be connected with the cross-arm s instead of the arm r, as may be desired.

A cross-arm, s, extends from the rock-shaft r', and a rod, s', connects said arm with a counter-Weight, t, which pulls up the chain-arm r and releases the brakes, and keeps them 'from the Wheels when the bell-cord is free.

Now, as the disks'c c must turn together to have the same partial rotary movement, they are connected by strong yokes p', crossing the disks at their circumference, provision being made by slots 3 in the yoke ends for the necessary sliding movement of the disks toward and from the disk a. (See Fig. 5.)

To protect the axle from the wearing action of the sliding and partial rotary movement of the disks c c, their hubs e are itted upon sleeves e e', which form the bearings for said disks; and for convenience of application, the disks and sleeves are made in half-sections, and are either riveted or bolted together.

The disks cc are provided with suitable holesythrough their surfaces or sides, for the purpose of admitting air and dust during the movement of the train, so that when they are brought in contact With the revolving disk a, their friction-faces may be cleansed from whatever refuse oil may have wasted' upon their faces during the run between stops.

It is deemed only necessary to use one set of friction-disks to each car, and in such case the connection is made from the truck having the friction disks with the truck4 at the other end of the car by a rod, u, Fig. 1, connecting with a crank-arm corresponding to that of u1 on a crank-rod. The crankarms u1 and a4 are placed at angles of about onesixth radius, Whether upon the same or opposite sides of their rod, and the action of these 'crank arms, in connection with the arms on the rock shaft fr', is such as to produce the greatest amount of power upon the brakebars. The rod e, Figs. l and 2, connecting with the truck at the other end of the-car, may be made to connect with intermediate armed rock-shafts, correspondingto that of r', (shown in Fig. 1,) in trucks provided with six or more wheels, and thereby eectually apply brakes to each wheel of the truck. This arrangement of friction, hand. and power brake is applicable to trucks of any number of wheels.

Now, as the chains p allow the disks ce to turn a certain distance in either direction, the moment they are brought in contact with the revolving' disk the brakes are put on, and in proportion to theleverforce exerted uponsaid outer disks, so will be that of the friction-power to apply the brakes with a corresponding increase of force upon the wheels. This result is producedby the weighted cone and pulley connections-that is to say, whenever the bell-cord n is pulled toward the engine, the branch cords mare also drawn, in consequence of their being tied to the bellcord, in a forward direction, which turns the pulley l to wind up the weight m1, and allow the weight k to descend by the unwinding of its connectingcord from a reduced to a greater diameter of the cone, while the other or lever end of the weight-connecting cord is connected to the lever rod f3, and lcorrespondingly winds up the said rod and levercord from a greater to a less diameter, so that as the weightl unwinds to an increase of leverage, the other or lever end of the cord winds to a decrease of leverage, thereby causing a continual increase of force all the while the weight descends, or is allowed to descend and when it ceases to vdescend the bell-cord may be drawn forward for two or more turns'ot' the pulley j, or to a Stop at the end of the rear ear, temporarily fixed by the train-man, and when the cord is so pulled to said stop by the engineer, he then knows all the brakes are set, agreeable to the force allowed by the train-man to each car of the train, respectively. This winding and unwinding'for slack between the cone pulley j and the branchline pulley m is to compensate for the slack between the cars in long trains, and hence the intermediate washers o o1.

It is desirable to have some means to enable the engineer to apply the brakes on the rear ear of his train, so as to keep the train stiff when rounding curves and on 'downgrades. This is e'ectually accomplished by the train-man tying the branch cord m sufciently short on the bell-cord of the last c ar to apply the brakes to this last or rear car without affecting any of the others, which at once takes-out all slack (if any) betweenthe cars, and allows his train to brake up firm, while the doubling or the usual jamming up of the cars, when suddenly braked, often displaces the slackvones from the rails; but when on a down-grade, or rounding a curve, the engineer -pulls in enough of the bell-cord to apply the brakes on the rear car agreeable cone, it correspon dingly winds the lever-branch toward the end or small diameter of the cone, and thereby exerts an increase of force upon the joint-lever j', and under this action the farther the weight 7c descends the greater will be the force exerted upon the frictionfaces of the disks, and so increase the force upon the brakes. The Objectis to control the amount of force required on the brakes at the time by a greater or less pull of the bell-cord. The branch line m from the bell-cord has a few turns upon the pulley l', while the weight-cord m2 winds and unwinds from the pulley Z, so that the winding of the one controls the unwinding of the other, and vice versa.

It is often found desirable to partially set the brakes when the cars are not in use, or when standing upon grades, and for this purpose hooks w are secured to the bottom of the platform or car in positions to be hooked into an adjustable clamp-slide, w, to hold the levers f f1 up to apply the brakes with sufficient force to hold the cars in place. The position of the hook is such that when hooked with the rod f3 it will be inclined in order to allow its being automatically unhooked by a pull of the bell-cord, as the hook w releases itself when the rod f3 is raised. The clampslide .fr is made adjustable upon the rod f3, to compensate for the wear of the brake-shoes, and is provided with a set-screw to secure it in position. As the braking force of the friction-disks is applied directly to the axle b, only one brake-bar is required for the wheels of that axle.

It is not new to operate friction powerbrakes by the momentum of the train, nor to employ the vtrain-cord to operate braking mechanism 5 nor to the use of friction-disks upon the truck-axles to apply the braking force by a sliding movement of said disks to bring them in contact with an axle-revolving disk, and such elements of a friction power brake are not claimed, broadly, in this patent.

I claiml. The disks a c c on one of the axles of each car, combined with the brake-connecting devices, for applying and releasing the brakes of its own truck and those of the corresponding truck at the other end of the car, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, in afriction power-brake, of the rotating axle-disk a and the disks c c with the yoke-levers d d, their connecting joint-levers f f1, and the bell-cord n, whereby the disks c o are forced against the rotating disk a to make the frictional contact, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with friction brakedisks a c c, levers d d f f l, and the bell-cord n, of the chain p and the armed rock-shaft 1 r', connecting with the brake-bars, whereby the outer disks are allowed a partial rotation with the axle-disk, to put on and hold the brakes until the bell-cord is allowed its freedom, all substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the train-cord a and the branch lines m, of the double and cone pulleys l lj, weights 7c m1, and the jointed levers connecting with the friction-disks, whereby the friction-disks are put into operation through the medium of the train-cord, and held in operation until said cord is rcleased, as described.

5. The double cone-pulley j, in combination with the hollow weight k, cord i, and the lever devices of the friction-disks, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with the pulleys l l j, of the loose washers 0 o and the projections o2 o2 and 2 2 on the washers and pulleys, whereby the pulleys Z l may have an independent motion to compensate for any slack in the traincord, as described.

7. The combination, with the disks c c and the axle disk et, of the slotted connectingyokes p', whereby the disks c c are secured to each other, to insure their simultaneous partial rotation withl the disk a, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. rlhe combination, with disks c c, having both a sliding and partial rotary motion in relation to the axle-disk a, of the bearingsleeves e e', as and for the purpose set forth.

9. The combination, with the friction-disks c c and the levers d d, of the double spring g, for suspending and opening the levers, as and for the purpose set forth.

10. The combination, with the adjustable clamp w on the rod f3, the joint-lever ffl, and

the friction-disks, of the hook w, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

11. The combination,with the friction-disks c c, chain-connection p, and the armed rockshaft r r', connecting with the brake devices,

of the arm s, rod s', and counter-weight t, as and for the purpose described.

12. The combination,with the friction-disks c c, chain p, connected on opposite sides of center of the disk, armed rock-shaft r r', and rod u, with the double-cranked rod u1 u2 a4 and the rods 'c5 and u8, connecting the brake-bars, as and for the purpose set forth.

13. The combination, with each car, of the graduating-weights k m1, their cords i m2, pulleys l lj, and the branch line m, whereby a loaded car may receive a greater amount of brake force by increasing the weights, substantially as set forth.

14. The combination of the truck-wheels, the rod u., double crank-rods u1, u2, and M4, and the rod a5, connecting the double brake-bars uf and c7 of the wheels of one axle, whereby the brakes are applied to the opposite sides of the wheels of one axle of each truck, substantially as set forth. l

15. The disks c c, provided with the air and dust holes y, as and for the purpose set forth.

16. The branch line m, in combination with the pulleys l l j, weights k m1, and the braking devices, whereby each car is provided with its own means for applying the brakes without regard to the bell-cord or platform-brakes, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have axed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

W. H. WARD. Witnesses:

A. E. H. JoHNsoN, J. W. HAMILTON JOHNSON. 

